pairings
The wines to pair with a Christmas menu
What are the best wines to pair with a Christmas menu? From cappelletti and lasagne to baked lamb, each course of the Christmas meal deserves its wine. Therefore, here is for you a selection specifically made by Enoteca Properzio for an absolutely impeccable Christmas menu, in line with Italian culinary tradition.
After Christmas Eve dinner, that usually consists of seafood dishes, the Christmas lunch cannot begin without a mix of Italian cured meats and cheese, which will be varyingly aged depending on local customs and personal taste. In this case, the unique and unmistakable perlage of the Champagne Spumante Brut Scacciadiavoli is the perfect pairing. With its fresh and delicate aroma and scent, this wine is characterised by fine notes of peach and apple. Its balance is more than appropriate to “let the dance begin” on December 25th.
Among the first courses on Italian tables, which are laden with food from North to South during Christmas festivities, we must mention lasagne and cappelletti in broth at least. The tasty flavour of the former is enhanced further by the Brunello di Montalcino Il Marroneto, with its harmonious hints of plum and cherry that you feel in your mouth together with cloves and pepper. For the latter, instead, the perfect pairing is definitely with the Barolo Cascina Francia Conterno, an intense and structured wine characterised by particularly light tannins.
Obviously, second courses too deserve fine wines to be tasted with relatives and friends. Among second dishes, baked lamb often stands out and is perfectly matched with the Sagrantino di Montefalco 25 anni Caprai, which distinguishes itself for its penetrating colour – a captivating ruby red – and a taste which is as velvety and smooth as persistent. Another second dish that can hardly miss on the table is ‘bollito misto’, which undoubtedly deserves a Kupra Oasi degli Angeli. This 100% Grenache wine is full-bodied and persistent, with smooth and balanced tannins.
Italian nougat, pandori and panettoni make Christmas even sweeter. In this case, the ideal pairing is necessarily with the Passito di Sagrantino di Montefalco Paolo Bea, a wine of sophisticated concentration and charming scent: a perfect gift to give… And to be given!
Food tip: you would better not miss the panettone Fiasconaro: with Sicilian pistachio, with citrus fruits and saffron (always rigorously Sicilian) or with Vecchio Samperi di Marsala. Whatever the variation, the result is always outstanding.